Louder Than Words
by dreamofmysoul
Summary: Fighting with your significant other isn't fun, especially when you have no idea what you're fighting about.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any rights to them.

Raven couldn't remember what they were even fighting about.

She knew it was something stupid, something that was absolutely not worth raising her voice or him clenching his fists tightly at his sides. Her boyfriend's green eyes that were usually full of nothing but affection for her were narrowed and glaring daggers at her. Raven hated that was looking at her like that, hated that she had yelled at him, hated that their quiet night in had been ruined. She hated that she couldn't apologize, mostly because she had no idea what she was supposed to apologize for, or if she was even the one who was supposed to be apologizing.

Garfield seemed to realize that she hadn't said anything in several minutes, and his scowl deepened. "Oh, we've moved onto the silent treatment? Real mature, Rae", he said scathingly, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. Raven could laugh – he had picked up that habit from her, much to Cyborg's annoyance.

Now _this_ was a familiar fight – he worked so hard to get her to open up, and would get frustrated when she would refuse to talk to him. She'd gotten better, but years of repressing her emotions was a hard habit to break, and sometimes she still found herself clamming up and avoiding confrontation rather than facing it head on.

She opened her mouth, not wanting the fight to go there, because she wasn't trying to ignore him or avoid the situation, she just didn't know what to say. All she knew was that she didn't want to fight anymore, but she wasn't sure how to make it stop. She wanted him to hold her and tell her it was going to be okay, that he loved her and he didn't think she was an idiot.

Garfield tilted his head to the side, his features becoming more confused and worried than angry. She probably looked quite strange with her mouth wide open, brows furrowed and struggling for words. Maybe he thought she was having a stroke. She almost wished she _would_ have a stroke, just so she would have an excuse for not saying anything.

"You're not going to give me the silent treatment… right?" he asked hesitantly, worrying his lip nervously, taking a step toward her but stopping, not sure if she wanted him to approach her or not.

Raven took a deep breath and shook her head. She was being ridiculous. This was _Garfield_. Her boyfriend of over one year. She could talk to him. She could close that distance. "Gar, I…" Garfield looked at her expectantly, some of the tension leaving his body upon hearing her say his name and knowing she wasn't going to ignore him. Seeing his relief at having her speak to him, Raven decided to be honest and say what she was really thinking, no matter how dumb it made her feel. Garfield was worth it. Steeling herself, she took another deep breath and asked him in her normal, quiet voice "What are we even fighting about, Gar?" She flinched slightly right after she said it. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know, because what if it really was her fault? How much of a jerk was she, causing a fight and forgetting why she had even caused it.

Garfield stared at her, dumbstruck, and her embarrassment grew by the second. Then to her immense surprise, he started laughing, clutching his stomach as his whole body shook with mirth. Her face flushed bright red, partially from anger but mostly from pure mortification. "You know what… maybe we should just leave it," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze and preparing to phase through the floor to wallow in her misery and embarrassment alone. However, Garfield, still chuckling, managed to gasp out a "no, wait!", lunging forward and grabbing her wrist, keeping her in place. She scowled up at him, finding a valid reason to be angry at him, but he seemed unfazed by her glare, wrapping his arms around her, his eyes crinkled up in amusement and affection for her.

"Wanna know a secret Rae?" he whispered playfully, and she raised one slender eyebrow at him, still not amused in the slightest, which only seemed to amuse him more. He pretended to look around, making sure no one else was around, before resting his forehead against hers, his grin widening. "I was hoping you would tell me, which is why I kind of freaked out when you stopped talking. I was positive you were going to dump me for something I didn't even realize I did, and then I would have no idea how to fix it. But you can't dump me," he said gleefully, "because you don't know either!"

Raven's eyes widened in disbelief, and she hit him on the shoulder, frowning, though her lips were twitching now too. "I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, trying her best to maintain her glare and failing miserably. He continued grinning at her, obviously trying not to burst into laughter again. "I can't believe me", she finally laughed, shaking her head. "Look at us, we're complete idiots," she said with a sigh, returning his smile.

"Idiots that are made for each other," he corrected her, earning him an eyeroll from the empath. "So… does this mean we're not fighting anymore?" Garfield asked her, his smile softening, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know…" she started teasingly, and he growled playfully at her. Raven smiled and finally closed the distance between them completely, lips meeting his in a sweet kiss. This time, words weren't needed; the kiss said all that was still needed to be said.

* * *

Raven's eyes fluttered open to find the bed beside her empty, and she frowned slightly, before she remembered that Garfield had an early morning patrol with Nightwing today and hadn't abandoned her in the middle of the night. She was impressed that he had managed to slip away without her noticing. Normally, he was a bit of a disaster in the morning, fumbling around and tripping over his own feet, grumbling to himself under his breath about how it was "too damn early" and "stupid early birds".

Sitting up, she stretched and was about to get up to go to the bathroom when something on her nightstand caught her eye. A green gift bag was perched next to her book, and she blinked at it in confusion. How the hell had he managed to get up early and not only sneak away unnoticed, but sneak back in to leave her a gift then leave again? Maybe his being a heavy sleeper was rubbing off on her, much like her eye rolling had rubbed off on him. Reaching over, the placed the bag in her lap, a small smile dancing on her lips. Not sure what to expect, she reached inside and pulled out a beautiful handcrafted mug - her favorite kind. Her smile widening, she also found a box of tea in a flavor she had never tried before. Finally, she pulled out a few dollars with a note wrapped around them that said "In case you don't like this new flavor, tea is on me today".

Her heart swelled with love for her boyfriend. She knew this wasn't an "I'm sorry" gift – the argument had been resolved, they were fine, he had nothing to apologize for. It was a "Hey just so you know, I love you and want to make sure you know that today" gift. And boy oh boy did she know, even if the note didn't' explicitly say it. Much like their kiss, his gift spoke louder than words.


End file.
